6 years after girl was bashed, killed and her body set ablaze, her case rumbles on in court… Accused trio includes her mother

A horror story, in which a Zimbabwean girl was viciously attacked into a state of unconsciousness before she was put into a plastic bucket, as her assailants waited for her to die, has returned to the courts in Namibia.

The three, who include her mother, are accused of even trying to hide the crime, according to prosecutors, by burning the body of the girl.

The heinous crime, which happened in Windhoek, Namibia six years ago, is still rumbling through the country’s courts.

The accused trio – who are all Zimbabweans – were back in court on Friday.

Akundaishe Natalie Chipomho was nine when she was killed.

A couple, Caroline and Edward Nkata, and Rachel Chireva, the mother of the child, are accused of the attack which led to the girl’s death.

They are all Zimbabweans.

They are being charged with murder.

They are facing one count of murder and further counts of violating a dead body, defeating or attempting to defeat the course of justice, fraud and alternatively preparing a forged document, forgery and contravening the Immigration Control Act.

Prosecutors believe the crime was committed between January 23 and 25 in 2020 in Windhoek.

The State is being represented by Ethel Ndlovu, Edward by Mbanga Siyomunji, Caroline by Milton Engelbrecht, and Kureva by Joseph Andreas.

The State claims that after the savage attack, they placed her in a plastic bucket and waited for her to die.

A confession, allegedly made by Caroline, also reveals an assault by Edward on the minor girl on the said date.

In that confession, Caroline says she allegedly saw her husband beating the child with his hands and, when she tried to stop him, he violently pushed her away and threatened to beat her up as well.

Subsequently, she claims, her husband later called her to bring him some water into the room, where he was allegedly beating the child.

Caroline confessed that she gave him a glass of water which he allegedly poured on the child in an attempt to wake her up after she slipped into unconsciousness.

Caroline also told the court that she saw foam coming out of the girl’s mouth and when she told her husband that they should take her to the hospital, he again threatened her.

She said she checked up on the deceased, from time to time in the garage where Edward took her after, she was not responsive.

The Zimbabwean couple has already challenged the validity of their warned-and-cautioned statements.

They have already claimed the statements were obtained in violation of their rights.

The purpose of warning statements is to record the suspect’s version of events, to potentially use the statements as evidence in court, and to show that the suspect was informed of their rights before giving the statements, especially the right to remain silent and the right to legal representation.

They have accused police investigators in the matter of using deceit to trap their clients.

Edward claimed his rights were not read to him, as he did not give a statement nor sign it.

He said at the time he was in hospital and was not in a stable state of mind to give such a statement due to pain and being under medication.

Rachel, the victim’s biological mother, is alleged to have told police that her child was in Zimbabwe with her father when police asked about the whereabouts of her child.

The girl’s body was left in the garage throughout the night.

Akundaishe’s body was allegedly transported in a bin to a municipal skip, located a distance from the accused’s flat, where it was dumped and set ablaze.

The Nkatas allegedly bought paraffin and matches, which was used in setting the child’s body ablaze, from a nearby service station.

The prosecution further alleges the Nkatas defrauded Progress Private School of N$6 000.

It is alleged Caroline indicated to the school where she was employed as a teacher that Akundaishe and an 11-year-old minor were her biological children.

This means the two children were not required to pay school fees by virtue of her being an employee at the school.

The couple is being accused of overstaying in the country for seven months after their employment permits expired.

The couple is also accused of forging school reports for the children.

They are further accused of overstaying in the country for seven months after their employment permits expired.

A State witness, who is said to be a neighbour of three Zimbabwean nationals, testified that children at the accused’s home may have been mistreated.

The witness’s testimony aligns with the State’s allegations that between January 23 and 25, 2020, the Nkatas kicked and hit Akundaishe with unknown objects all over her body and head, leaving her unconscious.

The witness, Bonita Minnies, claimed she observed Edward beating one of the children, a boy, from his house with a belt.

She said she believed it was abuse because he was hitting the young child in a very aggressive and powerful manner.

She said she saw the boy sitting behind the door and holding onto Edward’s leg and screaming.

Minnies revealed that on one occasion, she and her late husband, heard the children at the Nkata residence screaming in the house and Edward talking loudly.

She stated she did not know the reason why they were screaming but that it sounded like a scream of fear as if they were very scared.

A call was then made by her husband for a social worker. *_-H-Metro_*